Summary

Matt Hardy says Carlos Silva tried to make good after TNA pulled talent from independent matches involving AEW names during WrestleMania weekend.

Hardy addressed the fallout from Leon Slater being removed from his scheduled WrestleCon Supershow match against Ricochet, as well as Nic Nemeth no longer working an announced Create-A-Pro bout with MJF. He said those matches likely should not have been approved once TNA's WWE partnership was in place.

That stance lines up with what Silva said earlier about the decision itself, and it adds another layer to Silva's explanation for pulling Nic Nemeth and Leon Slater from those indie shows. Hardy also said Silva compensated the affected talent, while WrestleCon promoter Michael Bochicchio has already said Silva covered Slater's flight and hotel costs after the cancellation.

Quote from Matt Hardy

While speaking with Ariel Helwani, Hardy said:

"In my honest opinion, if we are partners with WWE, and WWE has laid it out that 'we're working together with TNA,' and AEW is its own entity, we probably, from that point on should've said, 'If you're doing indie booking, we probably shouldn't do TNA-AEW.' That would've been my guess. These things happen. I think in these finishes they had, things were going to work for both parties. It probably should've never been set from the beginning. Going forward, that would be the case now. They were set and things were there. If these things could've happened and all parties could've been happy, it would've been great if it could've continued, especially because it was advertised, but what should've happened, most likely, is that because we're partners with WWE, and AEW is its own entity that is a competing force, these matches probably shouldn't have ever been cleared."

Hardy later went on to say:

"The thing that I can tell you is the guys who he pulled out of those matches, he compensated them and paid them their full fee. I know he talked to Mike at Highspots and compensated him for the plane ticket and everything else. He did everything he could to try and make it right."

What Matt Hardy's comments mean for TNA and AEW bookings

Hardy's comments make the likely boundary clearer for TNA talent going forward, independent matches involving AEW wrestlers may be much harder to approve while TNA remains aligned with WWE. That gives promoters a firmer sense of where cross-promotional outside bookings can run into trouble.

His remarks also matter because they separate the business decision from how the situation was handled afterward. If Silva is covering fees and travel when TNA steps in, that may ease some fallout with wrestlers and promoters, but it does not change that these AEW-related matchups now appear to be a sensitive area.

Sources

Matt Hardy while speaking with Ariel Helwani